Kericho Feeding Station

I planned today to be able to spend a lot of time at Kericho Feeding Station.  They people here have always been kind to us and with my mother here, I thought we would want theextra time.  Boy, was I right.  Usually we are at a location only a short time.  The Kenyans frequently complain that we should come when we can stay longer, like a couple of days.  That's not likely, but several hours here was time well spent.

 

Francis Chepkwony is in charge of the feeding station here and he runs a tight ship.  Everything here was well organized, from the water system to the improved ventilation in the kitchen.  They even had constructed a drying rack for dishes, with it's own drain channel.  The cows, goats, and chickens were doing fine and all the kids looked great. 

 

But it was the sho-shos (grandmothers of the orphans) that were the stars of today.  They all came, about a dozen of them, and sang songs and performed a skit critical of families who abuseorphans.  They really took to my mom who truned out to be the oldest of them all.  They put an award on her and wrapped her in kikois and they all danced around like kids.  They tried to teach her that whoopwhoopwhoop thing they do, but I'm not sure she got it just right.  They were really great to her and it was fun to watch.

 

After we spoke to the kids and had lunch and all of those fun things we do at these visits, one of the church members said that he had a beautiful cave on his land that he would like us to see.  He said it was "not far" (Kenyan for about 20km) and that many people came to visit it.  After we left the feeding site we took him and Francis in the LandCruiser and set off in search of the cave.  When we finally arrived, the cave was marked by a beautiful waterfall.  (This seems to be the trip for waterfalls.)  It was high up on a tall hill, so shosho Charlene stayed with Angton, and the rest of us started up the hill.

 

It was quite a climb, and when we got there, about a dozen kids from the feeding site were already there waiting for us.  Seems it was a lot shorter walk than the 45 minute drive.  We crawled into the cave, duck-walking the first few yards until the ceiling opened up.  The cave must have reached several hundred meters back into the mountain.  It was hard to tell because our flashlights couldn't really reach the walls on the far side.  They guided us to a couple of pools of standing water that were interesting, but hard to call beautiful because of the light.  I took some long exposure pictures at one that really came out well and showed the true colors in the rock and water.

 

At the second pool, Morgan discovered the bats.  They started to move as we got closer to the second pool.  There were hundreds of them, really small and very fast.  One brushed Morgan's face and later Angton told us he heard the scream from all the way down the mountain!  That was when we realized we were not walking on mud so much as bat quano.  Oh, well.  Who knew our trip to a feeding station would end up this way?

 

It just points out to me the value of having enough time to really enjoy a place.  We usually rush from site to site, meeting people and praying that we miss some of the amazing beauty of this country.  From now on I'm going to try to slow down more and enjoy the real Kenya.  Tomorrow, Londiani.

 

Pics below: (The network here at Kericho has been very poor, so we are having trouble getting pictures up.  Please keep checking; maybe it will be better at Nakuru tomorrow night.)

Muhoroni

On the way to Muhoroni Orphanage today, we were reminded of how dangerous it can be to move around in Africa, especially at night.  We came across a bad accident, it looked like two semi’s collided, that spread flour and salt packages all over the highway.  The road was under construction and it was very bad at that spot.  Picture in the album below. This is why we try never to drive at night.

Once we got there however, it was a great day.  We arrived in time for a short tour before church started.  I introduced Thomas Alwala to my mother and reintroduced him to Morgan.    The place is really looking good.  We were wrapping up our tour when a car pulled into the orphanage and out popped Alfayo Bodi, from Ndhiwa orphanage.  He brought with him his wife and two friends from Homa Bay.  He had driven a long way just to meet my mother, Charlene.

Then it was time for church, my mom’s first experience in a Kenyan church.  She loved it, as did I.  They worship with such passion and feeling.  When they thank God for their daily bread they are not just mouthing words, they mean it.  They pray with the assurance of those who actually have been saved from death by the Father’s hand.  Everyone should get to witness this kind of worship. During the service, many small kids drifted up to sit on the laps of the three Neale women, it was very cool to watch.

Another piece of good news accompanied Alfayo’s arrival; he was preaching, not me.  He did a great job, with John from Homa Bay translating.  He preached on stewardship and used my mother as an object lesson for part of his lesson.  He said that we must be good stewards of all that God has entrusted to us, including our kids.  He said he was so glad to get to meet her, because she had obviously been faithful to God in raising me.  My head was swelling, but I was so happy for her to be honored in that way.  Kenyans really respect their elders in a way we do not.

After church as we were walking back into the orphanage, one of the older orphan girls came up to my mom and walked with her.  Her name is Mildred Acheing.  My mom told me about their conversation later.  Mildred said, “I wish I were you.” 

My mom replied, “Oh, no you don’t.  Your life is just beginning and mine is nearly over.  You have so much to live for!”  She turned and looked at her and said, “You are a beautiful girl and you will be a strong woman!  Put your shoulders back and walk tall.  You are a strong woman!”  It’s conversations like that that can change lives.

After lunch, Susie and Maureen presented Pam’s aprons to the two feeding station widows, who were deeply moved.  My mom had brought some assorted sewing supplies that she gave to all the widows.  They were especially happy with the zippers, which are very expensive here.

As rain clouds threatened, we hurried to depart.  Hugs and pictures and handshakes all around, and we were back at the Tea Hotel in no time.  Tomorrow we will see Kericho Feeding Station, another of my favorite places.  Pics below…

9 Oct v2

Name-Getters

Friday was another meeting day for me, this time with the “name-getters.”  These folks are people that we (WBS) hires to go to the public secondary schools in their counties and get the names of students who want to study the bible by correspondence with an American.  They are paid at a part-time level by the number of schools they visit.  They create the stream of new students that one day will be church leaders in this new generation of God’s Kingdom in Kenya.  It was a little weird for me, because they are almost all very new, and I didn’t know any of them.  Also, their English skills are not quite to the level of the regular workers, so much of the meeting was in Swahili, sometimes with translations, sometimes with paraphrased translations.

I was able to use yet another set of skills that I have picked up along my wide and varied career path, cold-call selling.  These workers first have to convince the school administrator to allow them to recruit on their campus, before they can sign up new students.  I realized this after hearing some very familiar sounding problems coming from their discussions.  I had heard the same words (in another language), many times in sales meetings back home.  I was able to chime in with a few suggestions and an idea for a sales tool to help them that I will do as soon as I get home.

Susie, Morgan and Charlene, spent the day at the Mbuvi’s house, getting another Kenyan cooking lesson from Tira, Maureen’s sister.  They are planning a true Kenyan night at Java house when we get back with beef samosas, mandazi, chapatti, and my amazing copy of Maureen’s chai.  By the way, I made my version of Chai for Maureen, and she really likes it.  She didn’t go so far as to say it was as good as hers, but…

This morning we got up early and were on the road to Kericho by 7:30am.  Actually we made a little stop in Nairobi to do some banking and shopping at a particular market that Susie likes.  It’s fun to watch her negotiate with the Kenyans.  She has been to this market before, so this time some of the merchants there remembered her and either ducked their heads or called her over, depending on how bad she had out-bargained them last time.  Our bags are nearing full with still a week to go.

Finally we were headed west toward Kericho.  It was a long, dusty ride with our 1 hour detour on the worst road in history, but we made it.  My mom is holding up fine, though I’m sure these roads are not to her liking.  We are now at the Tea Hotel, where it’s a little chilly; a welcome respite from the heat we have had so far.  Tomorrow we will worship with the little church at Muhoroni Orphanage and see all the good they are doing there.  I’ll get back on a regular daily blog schedule starting tomorrow.  Thanks for listening and all the great comments. 

8 Oct

Playing Catch-up

Wednesday  we all stayed at the Made in the Streets compound in Kamulu near Nairobi.  I met with Maureen and all of our 24 WBS follow-up workers all day.  These workers are the core of what God is doing here.  They visit WBS students to see how they are getting along, answer questions, and baptize them when they are ready.   They also help the new churches established by our students to get started and stay healthy.  Some of them also have responsibilities with the orphanages we have established at the churches in their communities.

Wednesday morning, Pam and Susie went in town to visit the Giraffe Center.  They had a great time.  We also put Arnold on his plane to Ghana, and Jeff worked all day with the kids at Made in the Streets doing automotive work.  Last night we treated everyone to a movie, played from a projector and iPad that I brought, hooked up to a Kenyan sound system.  My skills are still sharp!

Today (Thursday), we wrapped up our meetings this morning and after lunch went in town on the MITS bus to treat our workers to a special surprise.  We drove to the downtown Bata store and bought all of them shoes.  It was so much fun to watch them shop and try on shoes, like kids in a candy store.  Don’t miss the pics below. 

When they were done we dropped them at the bus terminal to make their way home and we messed around Nairobi waiting to take Pam and Jeff to the airport.  Finally, after a meal at Java House, we took them to Jomo Kenyatta International for their flights home.  Later we picked up my mother Charlene, and daughter Morgan, to begin their week long adventure with us.  Tomorrow I will meet with our name-getters while Susie, Charlene and Morgan get to know the kids at Made in the Streets.

6 oct

Kipsenende

I planned this day to be light and easy.  Only one site to visit, our feeding station at  the Kipsenende Church of Christ.  This is another church started by Bernard Kibet, and they really love their kids here.  This church was caring for orphans from their very beginning, and we partnered with them to do even more.  We built a widow’s dorm, dining hall, kitchen and latrine here, and the church just keeps doing more.  They raised money to buy a tea field to raise money for the orphans, and we added to it.  They wanted to expand the site, so they raised some money and we added to that.  Their 70 members have been giving sacrificially so it was only right that we helped them out.

After meeting the kids, we toured the small site and then the various projects.  We walked into the tea field owned by the church and watched the church members picking tea.  Kibet gave us an economics lesson in tea growing and we learned how to pick from the harvesters.  This 1.2 acre plot yields about 400 kgs of tea each weekly harvest and each kg sells for about 20 shillings.  That’s 32,000ksh per month, minus the harvesters share yields a tidy sum for the church.  This field has been in production with the same shrubs since the late 60’s. 

Some of the kids wanted to show us the river, and since we had a short day we walked down with them.  We were all amazed at the beauty of the countryside, and were able to witness a slice of life in this part of the world.  Along the way we met Kenyan long distance runners training on the hills and a woman who had come down to do her laundry in the river.  Kibet showed us the spot where he has baptized many new Christians and Doris stuck her feet into the cool water.  It was very relaxing and I realized how much the Kenyans depend on God through nature to supply their daily needs.  I took a panoramic picture from the tea fields, check it out below:

As we returned to the feeding station, we were ready for lunch and were able to eat it with the kids.  Jeff even joined in washing their hands before we ate.  Afterwards, I met with the church elders while the others played with the kids and Pam honored the widows.  All in all it was a very enjoyable stay.

On the way back to Eldoret , we decided to check out a sign we saw on the road on the way out that directed us 1.5km down a road to see a waterfall.  The road was bad, but when we arrived we found a newly designated tourist site, still under construction, around an amazing set of falls on the Kipkaren river.  The site is called Chipkiit Waterfalls and it was incredibly beautiful.  We explored for a while, taking lots of pictures that you can see below.

3 Oct

So here we sit, in the Hotel Sirikwa for the last time.  Tomorrow we will dirve to Nairobi and prepare for my meetings with the WBS worlers Wednesday through Friday.  Michael and Dorris are staying here an extra day before headed west into Uganda to continue their East African adventure.  Jeff and Pam will spend a day at Made in the Streets, before leaving for the U.S. Thursday night.  Arnold leaves us Wednesday for his home in Ghana.  What an exciting couple of weeks he has had.  I may not blog tomorrow, as I prepare for the meetings.  Be blessed.

Kapsabet and Ngenymesut (Sunday)

I have always been frustrated by how Christians fight with each other over styles of worship.  Even in Kenya, I have heard stories about how churches of Christ divide themselves into camps based on hand-clapping, women in worship, or instrumental music.  Because of this, I am always refreshed to worship at a new church at one of our orphanages and see how different they are from each other.  At some places their worship is somber and traditional; at others it is lively and joyful.  Kapsabet church of Christ enjoys a fine mix of styles that brings me hope.  It seems at places where the kingdom of God is blossoming through the obvious bond they share in caring for orphans, they have no time for fights over worship styles.

Especially joyful was the giving time.  Everyone eagerly lined up to bring his or her offering to the front, dancing and singing.  A special prayer for the offering occurs after, to thank God for his blessings.  Later in the service, they have a special offering so that those who have harvested that week can bring their 10% to the church.  They bring sacks of maize, bananas, and other vegetables, and another special prayer is said for the harvest.  Very cool.

Kapsabet orphanage is our biggest, with 140 souls here.  It is older and the kids seem more comfortable with each other here.  The older kids really look after the young ones, guiding them and leading them in worship.  It feels like a comfortable pair of blue jeans, worn and faded, but still your favorite.  Bernard Kibet, our worker here is a big reason for that.  His leadership style is quiet, but ever present.  I really love him.  Kapsabet looks the same to me, with a few additions, notably the tank that now is filled with water from a municipal water system that recently came to the area.

After worship, I met with the church elders while Pam did her blessing for the widows.  This time there was a unique problem.  It seems that the church here now pays for an additional two widows on their own that we did not know about, so we were two gifts short.  Next time, we know a new question to ask.  It’s great to be at a place where the church is so strong and supportive of the work.  It makes me realize what a true partnership we have here.

We also got to meet with Deborah, the wife of Bernard Langat, our new first choice for principal at the Vocational Training Institute.  I wanted to be sure that both were willing to move and start a new work with us.  We were all very impressed with her as she led parts of the worship, translating from Kalinjin to English and leading some songs.  I think that God has led us to His choice this time.  They are going to do a fine job finishing the education of our orphans as they prepare to enter the world.

After Kapsabet, we made the short drive to Ngenymesut.  It was not a scheduled visit, but sometimes surprises are good.  The kids there looked very good, and we toured the place and played with them until it was time to go.  Tomorrow, Kipsinende Feeding Station.  Don’t forget to check out the pictures from today, below.

2 Oct

Pokot

We had a leisurely day yesterday.  We only needed to get to our hotel in Eldoret, so we slept in and packed and drove north.  Along the way we say more of the beautiful countryside that Kenya is known for, including tea fields and amazing vistas.  We also so a bad accident where a pickup collided with a tractor pulling a cart.  Sharing the road with slow moving vehicles, (tractors, donkey carts, people carts,) is normal here, but Kenyan drivers don’t really slow down for them very often, they just zip around them.  Sometimes there’s another one waiting in the other lane.  We made it safely and had a few hours to look around Eldoret.  It was nice not being in a hurry.

This morning we started early, 6am.  Pokot is a long way from anywhere; Eldoret is just the closest place with a hotel.  We drove northeast to a city named Iten, a city known for it’s long distance runners.  We had breakfast at a nice tea house called the Baraka Tea Room, mandazi and chai, and then got back on the road.  After Iten, we began a 3,500ft descent to the Kerio Valley.  Along the way we saw some of the most breathtaking views you could imagine; the photos do not do them justice, but here is a panorama that is pretty cool.

Once we reached the valley floor, we turned onto a dirt/rock road that we stayed on for two and a half hours.  That is an endurance test, my friend.  There were numerous dry river crossings and hundreds of termite mounds, some soaring over 20ft tall.  We crossed a river just before reaching our destination that changed from wide and slow to narrow and fast right under the steel bridge.  It cut through the igneous rock that underlies the entire valley.  Amazing!  The terrain here is like the surface of Mars, red dirt and rocks, with trees added.

We reached Kinyach around 10am.  Kinyach is the home of a church started by Wilson Kiptoo, our WBS worker in this area.  We have a feeding station here with about 4o kids.  We call the site Pokot, but that is actually the name of the tribe that most of these people come from.  There are actually two feeding sites, this one and Kimnai, about 10 kilometers away.  At both sites they have a kitchen, widows dorm, dining hall and latrine.  At Kinyach they also have several money-making projects like goats, bees, and a newly constructed poultry project.

We were greeted with children’s singing and a brief tour of the site.  We met the widows from both stations and local church members.  Then we drove on to see Kimnai and the projects there, which are similar, with the addition of a camel and it’s calf.  They use camels for transportation of course, but also for milk.  We stopped briefly at Wilson’s house, where the tailoring project is located and then went back to Kinyach for a ceremony with the kids and church members and lunch.

After lunch, Pam did her blessing for the widows, which has become one of my favorite parts of these visits.  The widows really light up when they get their gifts and hugs from Pam and Susie.  We had a little time for playing with the kids and handing out candy, then it was time to depart.  The roads in this part of Kenya are so bad, you really don’t want to be on them after dark.  The drive back was grueling, so very long and hot.  The Forstons opted out of today’s journey just for that reason, but they will be back with us tomorrow, when we visit Kapsabet and Ngenymesut Orphanages.  Don't forget the pictures in the album below.

1 Oct